We reached Antarctica midday on November 18, 2023, approximately 45 hours after sailing from Ushuaia aboard Aurora Expeditions’ Greg Mortimer. Despite crew assurances that we enjoyed a “Drake lake” crossing, I was not the only one dosing on seasickness pills! So I was keen to put feet on land, despite the “sporty” conditions.

Zodiac Landing – Barrientos Island

Our first Antarctica landing was Barrientos Island in the South Shetland Islands. Just 65 hectares (160 acres), it’s a popular landing site for expedition cruises (maximum passenger capacity = 200). Terms of the Antarctic Treaty limit the number of visitors at any one time to 100 passengers, plus at least one expedition guide/20 passengers.

With the ship at anchor in a relatively calmer bay, we had our first experience with the Greg Mortimer‘s locker room and zodiac loading platforms. We have only one point of comparison: our Labrador and Torngat Mountains expedition cruise in 2019. The Aurora Expeditions experience was superior in every way.

First, there is a full-sized locker for each cabin, for storing your muck boots (loaners), PDF and expedition parka. Second, the lockers line the walls of a large locker room, so when your deck is called down for expedition, there’s no waiting in the hallway. You go straight to your locker, kit up, and then go line up to board the next available zodiac.

With double doors at each zodiac landing platform, we never waited more than 10 minutes between the time we were kitted up to sitting aboard a zodiac and heading away from the ship.

Highlights of our first Antarctic landing included Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins, along with a pesky Skua. It was early in the season, so Barrientos Island was shrouded in snow and ice. And thanks to strong winds, snow was blowing sideways. Mr GeoK considers this one of the highlights of the trip – Antractica, just as he imagined it!

Chinstrap Penguins

Gentoo Penguins

Sea Kayaking – Melchior Islands

Our first full day in Antarctica dawned with beautifully clear skies. Mr GeoK was up on deck with his camera well before breakfast. In addition to getting a look at Melchior Station, he captured golden light on one of the many low islands making up the Melchiors and spotted a humpback whale.

With more time and calmer water, the sea kayakers were called down first. We’d practiced getting in and out of our loaner drysuits and had an opportunity to adjust the rudder pegs in our assigned kayaks. But it was our first time on the water. And for Mr GeoK and I, our first time in any kayak with a skirt, so we needed a bit of extra help from Liz, one of our kayaking guides, as we got started.

It was also our first time kayaking at sea, and in a kayak equipped with a rudder. So we concentrated on “getting our act together.” As a result, we have relatively few photographs from this first sea kayaking expedition.

Zodiac Landing – Cuverville Island

Sea kayaking was an option at Cuverville Island. But it was a beautiful afternoon and we thought it would be a good idea to stretch our legs. So we opted for the zodiac landing instead. In hindsight, that turned out to be a very good decision. Why? Because it turned out to be our only opportunity for a photo of us standing on part of the Antarctic peninsular, with an Antarctica flag.

There was a large Gentoo penguin colony here. Other key attractions were the sunshine and the extended tromp through the snow.

Sea Kayaking – Paradise Bay

Our ship was at anchor overnight in Paradise Bay. This was where those who paid a little extra to camp overnight on Antarctica went ashore after supper and returned to the ship before breakfast. We were definitely more well rested than the campers. So we jumped at the chance to go sea kayaking shortly after our morning meal. Others went snowshoeing, and still others opted for a zodiac cruise.

Polar Plunge

Back aboard ship, expedition staff announced that conditions were perfect for the traditional polar plunge. At 64 degrees, 54 minutes S, this was the southernmost stop on our cruise. For those looking to tick “cross the Antarctic Circle” off their bucket list, this itinerary fell short. We’re not big on stuff like that, and opted for an itinerary that included lots of time in South Georgia and the Falklands.

Anyhow, we changed into our swimsuits and queued up for the Polar Plunge. About three-quarters of the 20 sea kayakers took part. Overall, we estimate maybe 40-50% of the 118 passengers aboard made the plunge.

Sea Kayaking – Alvaro Cove

Two kayak expeditions in one day! Our ship anchored at Alvaro Cove, a sheltered location on the north side of Bryde Island in the Gerlache Straight. For some of our fellow kayakers, this was the highlight outing of the trip. Why? Because we paddled among bergy bits / growlers and through brash ice. The natural sound track for this was quite amazing!

COVID-19 Confinement

I had a bit of sinus congestion when we kayaked at Paradise Bay. By the time we came off the water at Alvaro Cove, I also had a sore throat and ear aches. Because it was the Captain’s dinner that evening, I decided that using a COVID-19 rapid test was the responsible thing to do.

About 5 minutes later, confirmation. I’d gone all the way to the end of the world to catch COVID-19 for the first time! 🙁 Mr GeoK tested positive the following morning. We were quarantined for the next 5 days. Our cabin attendant delivered room service meals three times/day. We got a phone call from the clinic at least once a day to check on symptoms, etc.

For the first part of our five days in isolation, Mr GeoK felt well enough to photograph some things from our cabin balcony. The expedition photographer, Adrian Wlodarczyk, also made some of his photographs available to all passengers. So despite being confined to quarters, we have a limited photographic record of the rest of our ship’s time in Antarctica.

Cierva Cove

The sea kayakers got out paddling here. The remaining healthy passengers had a chance to go zodiac cruising in this large cove on the Antarctic peninsula. There’s a small emergency refuge here, currently equipped as a laboratory. The two small buildings can provide emergency shelter and rations for 3 people for 3 months. In addition to the full range of floating ice (ice bergs, bergy bits, growlers and brash ice), expeditioners observed another large Chinstrap penguin colony.

Hydrurga Rocks

This group of rocks in the Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica, are named after Hydrurga leptonyx, the leopard seal. Google suggests that few expedition ships stop here. And even fewer offer the chance of a zodiac landing, due to challenging landing conditions. Passengers had the option of sea kayaking, zodiac cruising and zodiac landing (for snowshoes). Meanwhile, we spotted one of the most unique icebergs of the trip from our balcony. Deep turquoise, it reminded me of a garden pagoda, with four pillars and a flattish roof.

Astrolabe Island

Our last full day in Antarctica started with an expedition opportunity at Astrolabe Island. We had a great view of the Dragon’s Teeth, just NE of the island, from our cabin balcony…

…and we watched with some degree of envy as our fellow sea kayakers paddled in that direction.

Duroch Islands

These islands are just offshore Cape Legoupil on the northern Antractic Peninsula. Cape Legoupil is the site of a permanent scientific station, which operates year round, has a capacity for 44 people, and an airstrip! Of significance to the sea kayakers and zodiac cruisers, the island group is an Important Bird area because of the Adelie, Chinstrap and Gentoo penguin breeding colonies.

Point Wild, Elephant Island

For the Antarctica history enthusiasts on our cruise, including author/ship historian Tim Griffiths, landing at Point Wild was a cruise highlight. The location is named for Frank Wild, leader of the party from Shackleton’s shipwrecked expedition which camped and managed to survive on the point for four and a half months until they were rescued on August 30, 1916.

Here, our fellow the sea kayakers experienced the only zodiac launch of our expedition cruise. Other healthy passengers had the opportunity for a zodiac cruise and brief landing to get a photo of/with the bust of Captain Luis Alberto Pardo, the Chilean Navy cutter pilot who navigated the rescue of 22 men from the Shackleton Expedition who survived the wreck of the Endurance.

Leaving Antarctica Behind

Later in the day, we spotted fin whales from our cabin. Being in quarantine, we got a few photographs from our cabin balcony.

The next two days were at sea, crossing the Southern Ocean on our way to South Georgia. A few passengers left notes and chocolate bars outside our cabin door, knocked and hurried away before we could mask up and open the door.

Otherwise, we saw only our amazing cabin attendant, Liza, when she brought our meals, fresh towels when requested, filled our ice bucket, etc. One night we enjoy a full turkey dinner for American Thanksgiving.

We rested a lot, caught up on all our photo processing, and were keen to be released from our cabin on arrival in South Georgia. Our biggest regrets about these five days? The obvious one = getting COVID-19. We also missed half the kayaking expeditions. But as we came to learn, this expedition was anomalous in offering 10 kayaking excursions. Most times, this particular itinerary ends up with kayaking offered 4 or 5 times, due to weather conditions.

Coming soon: Part II – South Georgia. That will be followed by Part III – Falklands/Malvinas. And then a final post covering the ship and the onboard amenities and experience. Please stay tuned!

Request for feedback…this post is heavy on photos, light on text, so it’s a long scroll all the way to the bottom. Is this too much for one post? Should I be splitting it up into smaller pieces, say a separate post for every expedition activity? Or is this okay?